Page 102 of A Smile Full of Lies
The woman who had stood in my kitchen barefoot, making soup, like she belonged in my house. The woman who had come for me in shadows she didn’t know were mine. The woman who’d just typed out her confession like it was nothing, like she didn’t realize she’d given me her entire heart in the process.
If she wanted in, I’d let her in.
It wasn’t just a gift — it was a test. A warning. A tether.
Because once she saw what was on this drive, she couldn’t unknow it. She couldn’t step back into her safe little world and pretend Stonewood Manor was just a house or my family was just a story.
She wanted me? Then she had to take the rest of me too. The past. The blood. The ghosts.
I turned the drive over in my palm, the edges biting into my skin. Heavy as sin. Heavy as truth.
And I slipped it into my pocket.
I crossed back to the mirror, the drive pressing heavy against my thigh with every step.
The man staring back at me looked the same as he always did. Suit straight. Tie perfect. Watch gleaming. Untouchable.
But I knew better.
Beneath the pressed fabric, my skin still burned with her marks. My chest still carried the weight of her confession. My pocket now held the one piece of evidence I’d sworn I’d never share.
It was too much. Too raw. Too dangerous.
And yet I wasn’t about to stop.
Because Ros thought she’d made her choice — thought she was choosing me over the mask. What she didn’t understand was that there was no choice. The man and the mask weren’t separate anymore. They were both me. Both hers.
She thought she was stepping out of the game. She didn’t realize she was in deeper than ever.
I smoothed the lapels of my jacket, adjusted the tie one last time, and let the mask settle into place. Calm. Polished. Collected.
Same mask. Different skin.
When I walked into that kitchen, I’d hand her this drive. I’d let her see the ghosts I’d been carrying alone for years. I’d give her just enough truth to bind her tighter to me.
But the rest?
The monster. The liar. The one who had hunted her in the dark and pulled every confession out of her mouth?
That stayed mine. For now.
I palmed the burner one more time before sliding it into my pocket, screen dark. She thought she’d cut herself loose. She thought she was free.
She had no idea she’d just tied herself to me for good.
Chapter
Twenty-Five
ROS
Even without seeing him,I felt that low, quiet gravity he carried like a second skin. He moved like he was built to be obeyed: sure and silent, every step a choice.
“Morning,” he said, his voice still a little rough from sleep.
I turned just in time to see him walk in, dressed for work in one of those perfectly tailored suits that made rational thought difficult. Gray jacket slung over his arm, black button-down stretched tight across his chest, silver tie knotted loose around his throat. His drying hair was swept back from his face, the sharp edge of his jaw still damp from shaving.
My stomach twisted.
